IPL 2021: Kohli says Sundar, Siraj and Saini will benefit from international exposure

IPL 2021: Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj made their Test debuts against Australia during the Border-Gavaskar series, which India won 2-1.

Virat Kohli's RCB is yet to win the IPL title.

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has said that international exposure will help Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj in the upcoming IPL, which starts from April 9 and continues until the end of May. Sundar, Saini and Siraj made their Test debuts against Australia during the Border-Gavaskar series, which India won 2-1.

"(What) I did as a youngster was that I brought in that confidence of international level at the IPL. Washy, (Navdeep) Saini and Siraj coming into their own - Yuzi (Yuzvendra Chahal) has been around for a while - and showing their personalities will help us pull stronger as a team and move in the right direction," Kohli said on the eve of RCB's IPL 2021 opener against Mumbai Indians in Chennai.

"Our youngsters have become more confident with more experience. Now opposition knows that these guys can make an impact in any situation as well, which is obviously a great sign for us."

 

No home advantage

Like last year in the UAE, teams will not have a home advantage even though they are playing in Indian conditions, which is a good thing, according to Kohli.

"There's nothing quite like playing at the Chinnaswamy, but the good thing is we are back in India, and one more positive like last year is that there is no home advantage," he said.

"Every team is working at neutral venues, and strength of the side comes to the fore and precisely why last IPL was so competitive. Because every team was in the reckoning to qualify for playoffs, save the last 3-4 games, which is great for the tournament as viewership last time went through the roof.

"Having done well last year in such a competitive scenario, I am confident we will put up a strong show this time around," he added.

 

Exciting additions

He also welcomed foreign additions to the squad. "Very excited with the squad we have this year. We would like to go a couple of steps further. Great to have Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) in the set-up.

"Dan Christian comes back, a couple of Indian guys, who have been picked are exciting, Daniel Sams has been picked up," he said.

"I feel relaxed with the resources we have and the strength of our team. Looking forward to being in the park and the lead up to IPL is full of anticipation and nerves. Looking forward to that first game on the ground as a team."